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Groupe URD at ECOSOC’s Humanitarian Affairs Segment in New York.

During ECOSOC’s "Humanitarian Affairs Segment", which took place from 18 to 20 July 2012 in New York, Groupe URD participated in several conferences to share the lessons it has learned regarding humanitarian responses in urban contexts, the crisis in the Horn of Africa and the issues at stake for humanitarian response during the initial relief phase.

Groupe URD took part in several events at the 2012 edition of debates organized by the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):

Round table on humanitarian response in urban contexts: Groupe URD presented the lessons learned from its latest evaluations in urban environments (and particularly the recent “Evaluation of European Humanitarian Aid in Urban Crisis Contexts”) and notably the issues at stake in preparing populations to manage crisis situations in cities.

Round table on real-time evaluations (RTE), which focused on the latest evaluation to date in the Horn of Africa: Groupe URD, which was in charge of the RTE in this zone following the crisis of 2005-2006, highlighted the lessons which have emerged between the past crises in the Horn and the one which is currently taking place in the Sahel. We pointed out that progress has been made (such as livestock farming being taken into account more effectively and the large-scale implementation of cash transfer programmes), and also that certain difficulties remain (slow responses, incoherent coordination, etc.).

Celebration of 20 years of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG): Groupe URD presented the results of the evaluation of UNDAC – a component of the international system which manages the initial phases of the response to major disasters – and notably the issues at stake and the difficulties involved in the functioning of this network of actors involved in the initial response and search and rescue activities in urban environments.